💾 Archived View for capsule.usebox.net › gemlog › 20220125-get-yourself-a-library-card.gmi captured on 2024-05-12 at 15:03:54. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
⬅️ Previous capture (2022-03-01)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Posted Tue 25 Jan, 2022.
Seriously, do it.
Your mileage may vary regarding what you can do with your library card, but it is generally free -well, is not actually free if you pay council taxes, of course-.
Over the years we have lived in almost a handful of different places in England, and I always get a library card. True that it is unlikely that I will use it, but I thought that in that way I would add to the tally of people using the library and that could mean more money for libraries that, by the way, do more things than lending books. They are also an important hub for the local community, and it is one of the few places that anyone can enjoy for free.
But that's not what I want to talk about today. Something has happened in recent years, and I have missed it completely: digital services.
I got my library card today and, suddenly, I have access to apps for my phone (and a browser in my desktop PC) where I can read a huge selection of magazines, comics, newspapers, e-books and even audio-books. And I don't even need to go to the actual library!
There's some DRM going on, and it is likely that the library has limited "copies" of the digital goods, but it isn't too bad and at the end of the day it is a comfortable (and legal) way of enjoying the content.
Unfortunately the library doesn't lend *time* to actually use their services, but I'll do my best to enjoy what I have been offered -this evening I spent 20 minutes reading the last number of Wireframe Magazine on my PC, and the experience was pretty good-.
So, I don't know. May be check your local library's digital services and get yourself a library card!